The 12 Days of Spamano
by Mollz33
Summary: Spain decides to give Romano the 12 days of Christmas. Only, things don't go exactly as planned...
1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree

_On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_A partridge in a pear tree_

Romano woke up like he normally did: around noon, completely naked, and hungry. Lying in bed on his back for about 20 minutes, Romano stared at the ceiling. Not for any particular reason. He woke up in a good mood. He'd be in an even better mood if Spain was next to him, but the tomatoes won't cover themselves, as Spain used to tell Romano when he was just a kid. So, he stayed in bed, just relaxing, thinking about what he should get done for the day. Maybe help Spain out make sure all of the tomatoes were covered for the snow that was supposed to hit sometime this week. Make lunch. Take a siesta. _'Hmmm, yeah, that sounds like a good idea.'_

Getting up from the bed, Romano put on one of Spain's long sleeved shirts that he had forgotten to put away and a pair of his own Italian blue jeans. Taking a big yawn, Romano decided to open the window to add a little fresh air to his day. He unlatched the hook and let the window's swing open in a dramatic way. Breathing in deeply, Romano closed his eyes for a second, allowing the fresh air fill his lungs. The air was beginning to turn chilly, but not so much that the window couldn't hang open for s minute or two. Slowly, he opened his eyes. In the distance, Romano could see the garden, half of the field was covered under the beige tarp. And just beyond that, Romano could see the ocean: a dark turquoise and lapping at the sandy beach. Palm trees gently swaying in the light winter breeze. The sky was a paler shade of blue than the bright summer colour that most people associate the country of Spain with. Taking in another deep breath, Romano closed the window and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

But Romano couldn't help but smile when he walked into the kitchen. On the table, was a plate of thickly sliced tomatoes, arranged in a half circle around the tops of the plate. There were 3 strips of bacon that made up the other half of the circle, each crispy without being burnt. In the middle of the plate, was scrambled eggs with a dash of salt and pepper and in the very center on top of the eggs was cherry tomato. With a genuine smile plastered to his face, Romano sat down at the table. 'Damn, Antonio…what did I do to deserve this?' There was even a glass of tomato juice next the plate, not a huge glass, but just enough for Romano. So naturally, Romano dug in and ate everything off the plate. Taking the last sip of his tomato juice, Romano picked up the plate and brought it over to the sink. He was in such a good mood that he was even going to wash the plate for Spain.

Walking back over to get the empty glass, Romano noticed the note that was definitely not there when he walked into the kitchen. Picking it up, the note had 'Mi Amor' scribbled on the front in Spain's messy handwriting. 'That bastard,' Romano said, chuckling to himself, 'only he could pull off something like this.' Opening the note, Romano was surprised to see only one sentence scribbled down.

'_Come to the backyard.'_

"Hmph…" Romano folded the note back up and put it in his pocket. Whatever Spain was planning, Romano had no idea. Normally when Spain did things like this (yes, this wasn't the first time) he gave a clue or left a trail or something. Spain liked to play silly kids games like this, but this was the first time that Spain just said 'go here.'

Mildly disappointed, Romano made his way to the backyard. He'd never admit it, but Romano actually liked playing Spain's little games. They changed up Romano's routine, gave him something to look forward to. But still, today was a good day. Therefore, nothing will bring Romano down today.

Stepping out on the patio, Romano expected Spain standing there or the table covered in something romantic, like tomatoes. Maybe even a new pet. He did not, however, expect to see what was clearly in front of him, no matter how hard Romano tired to rub his eyes and see if the mirage would disappear. But to no avail. Romano blinked his eyes, turned around and turned back, but the image was still there. The question is: how?

"Spain! What the fuck is a partridge doing in our back yard? And when the hell did we grow a pear tree?"


	2. Two Turtle Doves

_On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Romano woke up in a good mood. Slightly confused if yesterday was a dream or not, but still in a relatively good mood. He lazily got out of bed, put his clothes on, and made his way downstairs to make himself a late breakfast-early lunch. Whether or not yesterday had been a figment of his imagination, Romano decided not to let that bring him down. After all, Christmas was coming up soon, so there wasn't any time to be getting worked up over silly things that happened yesterday.

In fact, Romano realised he had to start figuring out what to get Veneziano and his bastard boyfriend for Christmas. (Of course Romano would get them both a gift. It was Christmas: the season of giving, not receiving. And even if Romano didn't approve of the German bastard, he's not so cruel as to exclude him on Christmas. It's the one day when everyone should be a family and be happy.) 'I suppose I could get Veneziano a year supply of pasta… but then he'd have it finished before New Years. Maybe an authentic Southern Italian cookbook on all the ways to make and serve pasta? Really anything food related is a good gift for Veneziano. It's like the saying 'cook Veneziano a plate a pasta and he will be full for a day. Teach Veneziano to cook pasta, and he will eat it for the rest of his life.'

Well, maybe that's not _exactly_ how the saying goes, but eh? Detail, details.

Making his way downstairs, Romano started the stove while he continued to think about what to get the potato bastard for Christmas. From the fridge, he grabbed the eggs, bacon, cheese, and tomatoes so he could make himself an omelette. It was tasty treat in the morning, as any meal with tomatoes was. Spain told him to get anything beer related and seeing as how Spain spends time with the German bastard's brother, he probably would have a better idea of what to get the German. But a part of Romano felt like just getting the guy beer wasn't a good enough Christmas present. I mean, beer is really more of a gift you get someone for their birthday. Therefore, he'd have to come up with something better.

Besides…beer is disgusting. If the German bastard really wanted something good to drink that'd get him drunk, then fine Southern Italian wine is where he should be looking. But if he got the German bastard wine, it'd be a shoe-in that Veneziano would drink it before the German bastard would.

While Romano ate breakfast, he continued to think up possible gift ideas. Not for only the German bastard, but for Spain as well. He had already bought a nice red halter dress with a gold flowery design that started at the bottom and had curls and wrapped up the side of the dress, progressively getting smaller until it stopped just short of where the halter went around the neck for Belgium. The Netherlands was getting a plane ticket to Canada and directions to Canada's home. Something told Romano that the two of them would get along great. Besides, it would be as much a gift for Netherlands as it would be for Canada. The poor guy hardly ever gets any visitors. Romano could never understand why. Canada was one of the nicest guys Romano ever met. Sure, he was pretty quiet and sometimes (Romano swore) that he seems fuzzy around the edges, but still, Canada is a great guy. _'Now that I think about it, I really should pay him a visit soon...'_

But what should he do for Spain? It'd have to be spectacular. Even better than what he gave him last year. Something that would blow Spain away and make him fall in love with Romano all over again. Oh yeah, it would have to amazing.

The opening of the bathroom door from upstairs told Romano that Spain was up and getting ready for work. Placing his Romano looked out the window above the kitchen sink. Sitting on the window sill, eating the bread crumbs (why the hell are there so many bread crumbs?) were two doves.

But they weren't _just_ doves…no. No, these were two doves…dressed in green turtle outfits.

"Spain, what did I tell you about dressing up animals in turtle costumes?"


	3. Three French Hens

(I just wanted to say a quick thanks to cutthroatpixie for making my day today. C: )

~~~~~O~~~~~

_On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Romano came home Rome in a fairly normal mood: slightly annoyed, tired, and wanting nothing more than to lay on the couch, Spain next to him, watching some sappy soap opera, and eat tomatoes. It had been one of _those_ days. Not everything went wrong but just enough that it made the rest of the day suck. First off, Veneziano and himself had to sit through a seemly endless meeting with their government. It was sort of interesting, until they all starting talking about 'austerity' (whatever the fuck that even means) and by then, Veneziano was asleep and Romano could care less. He started to draw on the paper that was on the table in front of him. Nothing special, just mindless doodles. Which (of course) got him yelled at by the chairman of the meeting, who in turn, woke up Veneziano. So for the last half hour of the meeting, Romano and Veneziano were yelled at for not paying attention.

Oh, and the best part: Veneziano and himself get to go through the whole all over again tomorrow. The thought alone made Romano groan loudly.

But that didn't matter, Christmas is only a little over a week away. And then Romano will be able to stay home with Spain, doing anything they want since Spain's boss let him have the week off and the Pope would damn the entire Italian government if they didn't give Veneziano and himself the week off. The only real downside, though, is that Romano and Veneziano were required to come to midnight mass at the Vatican. To represent their country in a traditional manner. But other than that, it was going to be a great week off.

Calling out to Spain, Romano heard no reply. He briefly poked his head in all the rooms where Spain would be, but there was no sign of the man. "Hmph." Well, where was the bastard? Whipping out his cellphone and already having slipped off his shoes off at the door, Romano padded upstairs and took off his suit, texting Spain asking him where he was. Throwing his clothes on the dresser , Romano slipped in to a white t-shirt and a pair of fuzzy, black fleece pants. Taking off his socks, Romano padded back downstairs bare-foot and stepped into the kitchen to grab a tomato. A sudden buzzing from his pocket alerted Romano to the new text message. Setting the tomato on the table, Romano took out the phone and read Spain's message. _"Are you home?" _Scoffing at the message, Romano texted back a quick, "yep." Knowing Spain would text back in a matter of seconds, Romano kept his phone in his hand.

And sure enough, the buzz of his phone alerted him to the new message. Or what Romano thought was just a text message. Spain was actually calling him. Rolling his eyes with a smile, Romano answered. "I wasn't expecting you call."

"Hehe, yeah…I know. I just wanted to hear your voice, Amor." Romano could hear the sad tone in Spain's voice. It wasn't uncommon for Spain to hate working, but this time, Romano could tell it wasn't because he was working. Spain had to stay late, so that he wouldn't be behind when he came back from Christmas break. But staying late meant he wouldn't be able to eat dinner with Romano. And normally that also meant that by the time Spain would get home, Romano would already be asleep.

"Hey, Antonio?"

"Sí, Lovinito?"

Trying to fight down the blush that appeared on his face (and failing) Romano shyly, but with absolute certainty said "I love you." He took a deep breath. "I know you're miserable right now, but I'm proud of you and I love you."

Romano could hear Spain take a shaky breath in over the phone. "Lovino… You have no idea how much that means to me. Oh Dios, I wish I was home with you right now."

Smiling to himself, "I know. I wish you were here, too. But just remember, it's Friday. You'll be able to stay home this weekend and then there's only 2 more work days before we get a whole week to ourselves."

Romano could practically hear the groan and the smile that made it's way to Spain's face. "Lovi, te amo. Te amo mucho."

"Yeah. Ti amo, troppo."

Romano heard Spain take a deep sigh, "So Lovi? Have you seen anything interesting today?" There was a slightly hopeful tone to Spain's voice, but Romano chose to ignore that.

Washing off the tomato and rubbing it on his shirt. "Nah, not really. Well, there was a guy standing on the corner in a sparkly pink dress and high heels on my way to work. But other than that…" Romano was just about to walk out of the room when something odd caught his eye from out the window. Stopping in his track, Romano tried to think rational thought for a moment. _Perhaps he's just hallucinating? _Taking a deep breath, Romano took a bite from his tomato and slowly walked to the window next to the front door. Sure enough, the sight that Romano had seen out of the corner of his eye from the kitchen window, was in fact, still there.

France.

Standing our in front of the house.

Dressed in a chicken suit.

With two chickens on either side of him.

…

France flapping his make-shift chicken wings and throwing something (is that corn?) at the front of the house while the other two chickens stopped pecking at the ground and started running towards the thrown stuff (seriously? Is that corn?)

Shout-whispering into the phone, "Antonio! That fuck-face France is attacking our home with his pervy chickens!"


	4. Four Calling Birds

_On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Spain walked in the door, exhausted, slightly annoyed, and cold to the bone. He shut the door as quietly as possible so he wouldn't wake up a sleeping Romano upstairs. His boss had made him stay at the office until just after midnight. Apparently, having a week off meant that you had to have the work done for that week ahead of time. Which is just stupid. Work is stupid. And you know what? His boss is stupid, too. He's the personification of a country, shouldn't he have more respect from his government? I mean really, they should be glad to give him a week off. And NOT just because it was a holiday. It also didn't help that when they finally let Spain leave, the beginning of that incoming snowstorm had started. So Spain spent at least half an hour trying to wipe the snow off his car (while it continued to pile down right after he wiped off a spot.) It was really just his luck.

And not only that, but now he has to stay up late and make sure Romano's gift for tomorrow was all set. And that was a feat in itself: Gilbert's chick was really a stubborn bird. He wasn't asking for much. All he needed was the (stupid) yellow chick to chirp into the recorder Spain had set up four different ways. So that way, Spain would be able to call Romano four times and play the chirping birds. But that (stupid) bird decided that pecking Spain's hand to death was a much better idea than doing what Spain told him to do.

Taking a deep sigh, Spain dimly wondered if maybe he should've bought one of the stuffed bird plushies that makes the call of the bird it's designed after when you squeeze it. It would've been easier to do just that. Not exactly authentic, like he was going for, but it would've been easier than dealing with that (stupid) bird. And Prussia said that Gilbird was well-behaved? Yeah, sure. Maybe for _him. _But somehow, after bribing and putting Gilbird in his cage for time out, Spain had managed to get a good recording of four different chirping bird sounds. So now everything was all set for tomorrow. All he had to do was call Romano on his lunch break tomorrow and play the chirping sound. Hopefully his boss would let him take a lunch break. It's hard to tell with that man, sometimes…

Anyway, deciding to worry about all that after he made himself dinner, Spain went upstairs to take a shower and change into clothes that weren't half-frozen to his skin. He turned the heat on the water to high, barely even feeling the scolding temperature on his cold skin, and stood in the warm water flow. So far, this whole '12 Days of Christmas' idea was sort of going to plan. I mean, the pear tree arrived on time and Romano was asleep long enough for Spain to plant the tree where Romano would see it. And somehow he was able to make the partridge stay in the tree, too. If only that bird would stay there for the next 9 days. But the doves had already eaten off the turtle costumes. Which made Spain pretty sad: he spent all night sewing those costumes, after all! And so far, Romano hasn't seemed to get the partridge or the turtle doves. And the French hens idea went out the window the moment France walked in the picture.

But maybe once Romano saw all 12 presents together, he'd get it.

…Maybe.

Romano could be just as dense as Spain sometimes.

Shutting off the water, Spain stepped out, wrapped a towel around his waist and went back into the bedroom to change into something warm and soft. Like Romano's black, fleecy pajama pants! They were warm, soft, and slimming! Besides, Romano always slept naked, so he wouldn't have to worry about him getting mad. Quietly, Spain left the bedroom, (even though Romano was a heavy sleeper) and walked into the kitchen.

Staring at the clock that read 1:34am, Spain decided to make himself a tomato and cheese omelette (tasty things they are.) But he almost fell asleep while making the thing. So he tried to eat the omelette as fast as he could because his body was telling him it was time to sleep and his brain was telling him to go to bed before he fell asleep on the kitchen counter. Which was probably the smarter decision. Spain had a feeling that his back, neck, and Romano wouldn't be happy with him for sleeping on the counter.

…again.

Placing the dirty dishes in the sink (he'd do them when he woke up) Spain padded upstairs to the bedroom. His stomach was full, his body was tired, his eyes were half-closed, and his arms were aching for that warm Italian body. So lying down on his side on the bed, Spain wrapped his arms around the sleeping Romano's waist and brought his back up against Spain's chest. Gently nuzzling his nose between the junction of Romano's shoulder and chin, Spain took a deep breath of Romano's intoxicating scent, making stars appear before his eyes. If he wasn't so tired, Spain would've woken Romano up and allow him to share those same stars. But the glaring red light of the alarm clock next to their bed that said '2:03am' reminded Spain on how late (or early) it really was out.

~~~O~~~

Spain snuck out of his office to call Romano. He would have called him from the phone in his office, but his boss decided that that wasn't going to happen. His boss had called to give Spain the list of things he would need to do before he could go home, which wasn't too bad at first. But then his boss wouldn't shut up about how he was supposed to go about finishing everything. He even had to the nerve to tell him how long the margin of each paper should be! (which, for some reason, weren't all the same length) And even after his boss finished explaining all that, he kept going on about Spain's poor work ethic and ways he could improve and y'know what? By that point, Spain had stopped even listening. He had a call to make and his boss was preventing that. Even after waiting a good 10 minutes, there was clearly no end to his boss's rant. So Spain decided to just leave. He couldn't tell his boss he had to go (that would just land him in even hotter water) so Spain tip-toed out of the office, opened and shut the door as quietly as possible, and ended up having to ask his secretary, a bitter but dependable 50 year old woman that his boss had specifically picked out for him, if he could use her phone because his cellphone was in his desk… in the creaky drawer of his desk… where if he tried to get it out, his boss would probably find another reason to yell at him. But even though Spain his secretary didn't always get along, she let Spain use the phone. It was almost Christmas, after all.

Whipping out the recorder, Spain dialled Romano's number and as soon as he picked up, Spain played the bird sounds, not even waiting for Romano to finished saying 'ciao.' Smiling the whole time, Spain hung up the phone the moment the recording ended. Clearly proud of himself, Spain handed the phone back to his secretary and put the recorder in his pocket.

The secretary stared at Spain. "Do I even want to know?"

Turning around to face the (bitter) old man, Spain's smile grew and he quickly ran up to her. Checking over his shoulders twice, Spain whispered to her, "I'm giving mi amor the 12 Days of Christmas!" Spain stepped back, grinning like a fool.

The secretary continued to stare at him.

"…well good luck with that." and she went back to work.

Still grinning, Spain returned to his office. Happily surprised, Spain realised his office didn't have a shouting, nagging boss ringing through it. Spain sat down in his chair and sighed, putting his hands behind his head. Oh how much he missed the silence…

…

*RING RING RING*

Almost falling out of his chair, Spain grabbed his phone from his desk, grimacing at the ear-splitting sound as his desk protested the fast movement. Looking at that caller-I.D., Spain smiled to see that it was Romano calling him.

"Hola mi amor-"

"Antonio! Your stupid friends are drunk-calling me again!"

Spain sighed. This was going to be a long 8 days.


	5. Five Golden Rings

(Thank you animebooklover14 for helping me out with this chapter!)

~~~~O~~~~

_On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Five golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Romano woke up groggy, naked, and … slightly colder than he normally did. Lazily opening on eye, Romano focused on the alarm clock next to the bed. '8:42' Lightly 'hmmm'ing to himself, Romano closed his eyes and yawned. It was early. Not too early, but just early enough for Romano. The best time to wake up (without feeling like the walking dead) is 10:20. Romano had decided this a while ago. By 10:20, the sun was up and the earth was already warm (well, as warm as it could be with 3 feet of snow outside). The wildlife was out and about, doing whatever native Spanish wildlife does. And better yet: 10:20 means that you're just in time for breakfast while still being able to have room for lunch. It was clearly an all-around win.

Sleepily, Romano rolled onto his back and stretched his arm out to where Spain was. Or apparently not was. Romano's eyes flew open at the feeling of cold, empty space next to him. Sitting up, Romano saw that Spain was not next to him nor even in the room. And there weren't any sounds coming from the bathroom, so he wasn't in there. Maybe he was downstairs making breakfast?

Reluctantly getting out of bed, Romano changed into a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved dark blue shirt. The huge snowstorm that the weatherman had been warning everyone about had finally hit during the night. So now Romano had to dress warmer than he'd like. Turning around to sit on the bed to put on his socks, a glint sparkled in the corner of Romano's eye. Laying on Spain's pillow was a gold ring with a note underneath it. With a beating heart, Romano picked up the gold ring and rolled it between his fingers for a second. Spain wasn't…? Picking up the note, Romano began to read.

"_Lovi, mi amor~!_

_I have a game for you! I've hidden 4 gold rings all around the house for you to find! There are 5 total, but if you're reading this note, then you've probably already found the first one!_

_I'm sorry I had to leave early this morning (my boss called and said there was urgent business I had to do). And I'm sorry I won't be able to watch you find all the rings, but if you've found all the rings by the time I get home, you'll get a special surprise~!_

_I've left a clue with each ring to help you find the next one. So here's your clue for the next ring:_

_Crack me open and my guts will spill. Fry me up and your stomach I will fill._

_Good luck Lovi~!_

_Te Amo Mucho~!_

_~Antonio"_

…

…

Romano stared at the note.

"…Are you fucking kidding me?"

Walking downstairs, Romano tried to look for whatever the hell he was supposed to be looking for. _Crack me open and my guts will spill. Fry me up and your stomach I will fill… _What the hell did that mean? Last time Romano checked, cracking someone up and frying up their guts wasn't a good thing. (At least not since his mafia days…but we don't need to talk about that)

_Crack me open…_

_My guts will spill…_

_Fry me up…_

_Your stomach I will fill…_

Fry me up.

Your stomach I will fill.

And as though a rock had fallen from the sky and plopped Romano on the head, it hit him. What did Spain and him love to eat for breakfast? Omelettes. And what are omelette's made of? Eggs.

The egg carton in the fridge.

Ripping open the fridge door, Romano was, sure enough, me with a note tapped to the front of the egg carton. Grabbing the note, Romano opened it and began reading.

"_I'm glad you found the next clue, Lovi~!_

_Did you eat breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day!_

_I'm sure you're itching for the next clue! So here it is~!_

_My binding holds a story to tell_

_But open me up, and I have two gold rings as well."_

'_Hmm…' _Romano stared at the piece of paper. He was disappointed to find that there wasn't a gold ring in the egg carton with the note. But at the same time, he was kinda happy that it wasn't in the fridge… and he was proud of Spain for knowing not to put a ring in the fridge (honestly, who puts a ring in the fridge anyway?) But any who, Romano decided to focus his energy on finding the next ring. Or rings, as the note implied. He was pretty sure that he could cross of the bedroom and kitchen of the next location. Even Spain would know not to use the same room twice.

But that still left like 50 more rooms in the house to check. Which was unfair! Even though Romano had lived there for centuries as a kid and started living with Spain again for the last few centuries didn't mean he knew all the rooms in the house! (Seriously! There were like 10 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, God knows how many libraries or offices, at least 2 kitchens, 4 attics, 3 levels to the basement, and however many secret passages Spain had in the damn house. Honestly! Spain needed to give him a map (a very detailed one!) if he expected Romano to be able to find the damn rings. If this is Spain's way of proposing, then Romano would make sure he'd get a kick to the balls before he said yes.

Anyway, the note said _bindings_ and _story. _So wouldn't that imply a library? Romano stuffed the note in his pocket and started walking to the only library in the house where he knew the exact location of. It was 2 doors down from their shared bedroom (which used to be Spain's bedroom when Romano was a kid) and 2 doors down from Romano's old bedroom. Spain's office was also across the hall from it_. (Coincidence? I think not!)_

…

So opening the door to the library, Romano walked into the room. There were a few books laying on the coffee table. One about a white whale and another about 12 days of Christmas or something. Walking further into the room, Romano spotted was the two gold rings lying on the middle of the old desk that was near the staircase to the second level. They were spaced equally apart and right between them was the next note. Absentmindedly, Romano pocketed the rings and started reading the note.

"_Good job, mi amor!_

_You're so very good at this! Are you ready for the next clue? I think you'll be happy to know that the next 2 rings are together! _(There was a strange looking marking after together that Romano assumed was supposed to be a smiley face.)

_When you feel dirty, I clean up the muck_

_When we feel horny, it's a great place to f-"_

Wide-eyed and blushing, Romano quickly stuffed the note into his pocket. It was pretty clear where the next clue was. So he made his way down the hall towards the bathroom. It was both his and Spain's favourite bathroom in the house because of the large, Jacuzzi bathtub and panorama windows that overlooked the ocean. They could easily both fit in the bathtub and shower, so they often… y'know. Had some _fun_ in there every now and then. It was their own private bathroom! If they wanted to do _that_ then they could do _that! _it wasn't like anyone else used it…

Stepping into the bathroom, Romano scanned the room for the note, but it wasn't on the counter or on the edge of the bathtub. So he walked in further. Maybe Spain put it in the bathtub? He did pretty much say it in the note after all. Leaning over to look in the bathtub, Romano was surprised to see that there was candles, rose petals, and the distinct smell of lavender in the tub. And in the middle of all this was the next note. Choosing to ignore the romantic atmosphere in the tub until Spain came home to tell him what this was all about, Romano began reading the note.

"_So Lovi~? Do you like what I did to the tub? I think you know what I have planned for tonight~! _(Spain had written something that looked like a one-eyed, puckered fish after tonight)

_In the mean time to keep you occupied, the last two rings are in the wine cellar!_

_Good luck~!"_

Romano stared at the paper. Really? Spain was just going to tell him where to go? He wasn't going to make him guess? Well that was no fun…

Leaving the bathroom, Romano made his way down the 2 flights of stairs to the basement. He expected Spain to at least tell him which way to go, but when he stepped onto the basement floor, he saw why Spain hadn't.

Spain had set up Christmas lights that ran across the tops of the wine racks and along the bottom, all the way to the ends of the cellar. Mouth slightly open in awe, Romano followed the lights until they led him to one rack where the lights framed the edges and had star shaped lights draped along the shelves of the rack. And right in the very center, was one bottle of wine, (an Italian wine, Romano noted happily) that had the last two gold rings around the neck of the bottle. Picking up the bottle, Romano saw the note attached to the neck. Taking it off, Romano started to read.

"_Yeay~! You found all the rings, mi amor~!_

_I'm so proud of you! _

_Now, bring up the bottle of wine and com meet me upstairs~!"_

'_Wait? Meet him upstairs! But wasn't he still at work? What time is it anyway?'_ Taking out his cellphone, Romano was shocked to see that it was already 5pm._'Oh my God, that bastard,' _Romano thought. Spain planned the time-limit of the whole thing. Smiling in disbelief, Romano made his way back upstairs, where, just as the note said, stood Spain, grinning like a fool.

Still smiling, Romano walked over to him. "You bastard. You sly bastard." Spain, who grinned even more, just held out his arms for Romano. Setting down the bottle of wine, Romano hugged Spain. Resting his chin on Spain's chest, Romano stared up at Spain. Lowering his face, Spain kissed Romano passionately. He wasn't kidding when he said what he planned on happening tonight. Without breaking the kiss, Spain lifted Romano up and wrapped his legs around his waist. Feeling for the bottle of wine behind them, Romano grabbed the bottle as Spain led the upstairs to the bathroom for a passionate night of love-making.

~~~~O~~~~

Groaning at the sunlight that glared into his eyes and the dull ache in his backside, Romano woke up. He wasn't in a bad mood, despite the pain. He had become rather used to the after-morning aches. Besides, Spain always took care of him and filled his every request, so he really had no reason to feel anything but content (although that would be an understatement after their glorious last night.)

Shifting to lay on his side, and wincing at the pain that followed, Romano was pleasantly surprised by the warm arm that immediately wrapped itself around his waist. Even in his sleep, Spain was there to take care of him, that thought alone made a sincere smile grace Romano's face. Because even if he didn't understand what the whole '5 rings' thing was, Spain loved him. So whatever other crazy romantic things Spain decided to do, Romano would always be patiently waiting with a smile.


	6. Six Geese a Laying

_On the 6__th__ day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Six geese-a-laying_

_Five golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Slamming the front door shut, Romano kicked his shoes off so they flew into the wall, chucked his coat on the coat hanger, and threw his briefcase on the couch. He was pissed and wanted nothing to do with the world at the moment. He and Spain had been woken up at 4 am by the fucking partridge who decided to start 'cawing' like it was on steroids. Even thought the sun didn't rise until 3 hours later. So there was really no fucking point to the stupid birds waking the living dead at an un-godly hour. And that was just the first clue that today would be a god-awful day for Romano.

After lying in bed, staring at the ceiling for hours, waiting for the bird to either shut up or a fox come and eat the thing, Romano unwillingly got out of bed, half dead and way more grumpy that he should have been, and tried to take a shower. Keyword: _tried._ Apparently, during the night, the pipes had frozen over. So taking a warm shower was out of the question. Too bad he didn't find that out until after he got naked. So Romano had to grab a towel, (not from the wall, no. There wasn't a clean towel, so he had to grab one from the hamper) and walk back into the bedroom to get dressed. And for once that morning, something went right. His clothes for the day were one the dresser, so all Romano had to do was change into them.

But his (short) good luck wouldn't last for long. Walking down stairs to eat breakfast, Romano slipped on the staircase going down. Luckily, it was the bottom step, but it still hurt his ass. So groaning and cursing at the stairs, Romano began making himself breakfast. A cup of black coffee, a cheesy and tomato omelette and an orange was the perfect way to turn this horrible day around. Or it would be, if the eggs weren't all gone… Oh, and better yet, the tomatoes were all gone, too. So a cup of coffee and an orange was all Romano could have for breakfast.

What a fan-fucking-tastic day.

…

Flopping down on the bed, Romano spread out his arms and legs and just closed his eyes. The whole house was quiet, but it was a welcomed quiet. After the hustle and bustle of the busy Monday work-day, Romano wanted nothing more than to drown in the silence. Until Spain got home, this is where Romano would be staying.

"I fucking hate Mondays!" Romano shouted at the top of his lungs. And collapsed on the bed.

HONK

What the hell was that?

HONK HONK

There it was again! What the hell was that?

Curious, Romano reluctantly got up from the bed and walked towards the strange noise. It seemed to be coming from outside, near the patio. _'I swear to God if there's another partridge out there…' _Looking out the upstairs window, Romano tried to peek outside to spot the mysterious noise, but he couldn't see anything. So even more reluctantly, Romano walked downstairs and padded his way to the patio. Stopping just short of the back door, Romano stood quiet, making sure that the noise was coming from out there before he opened the door.

HOOOOOOONK

Oh yea, whatever it was, it was out there. Dramatically swinging the doors open, Romano was not expecting to see such a sight. In fact, it kinda burned his eyes.

There were geese.

Like maybe 6.

In their backyard.

…

Having an orgy…

Seriously. Some were humping the brains out each other and the others were- wait. Were they laying eggs?

Oh shit.

"Hey! Your stupid birds! Go away!" Romano ran out in the snow towards the birds with his arms held wide and flapped them. My god, he did not need anymore fucking birds here. Not after last night when he was kept awake by one of them. More over, they did not need to be reproducing more of those annoying rats-with-wings-that-keep-him-up-and-make-his-day-horrible. But to add more insult to Romano's already horrible day, the geese only ran a few feet away from him and just circled around him. The little bastards. Even more angry (and cold), Romano picked up a snowball and chucked it at the stupid birds. It hit one of them on the back, but the goose shook it off.

It was like the stupid thing was mocking him!

Reaching down and making a dozen or so snowballs, Romano started chucking them at the birds relentlessly. Pelting them in the back, on the head, at their feet, Romano just threw in their general direction and didn't bother to stop and see if it hit them.

And y'know what?

It wasn't a bad way to end such a horrible day.

...

But Monday's still sucked.


	7. Seven Swans a Swimming

_On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Seven swans-a-swimming_

_Six geese-a-laying_

_5 golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Well, the goose thing definitely didn't go to plan. Although it wasn't as bad as Spain thought it would be. I mean, after that stupid partridge decided to keep them up at an un-godly hour, it was really a wonder how Romano managed not to kill the geese.

But then again… those geese were pretty tough. Or just stupid.

When Spain came home that night, he was definitely not expecting Romano to be having a one-sided snowball fight with a bunch of horny geese. It was a once-in-a-lifetime-sight.

Yet for some reason, these supposed-to-be-rare-sights were weren't so rare. But honestly, Spain wouldn't want it any other way. It was those little quirks that Romano had that just made his day so much better than he could ever hope.

But sometimes, those little quirks were a little too much to handle.

But only sometimes!

Which is why Spain decided that the gift for the seventh day should happen outside of their house. For both Romano's and his own sake. (That stupid partridge was really starting to get on their nerves) Plus, if Romano knew just what he did for today's gift, he'd be pretty darn proud of Spain. Not only for being a good patron to the city, but also for not bringing home anymore birds (that keep them up at night) Which is what brought Spain and Romano to where they are now: at the park, on their way to the pond.

See, instead of bringing the swans to Romano, Spain decided to buy the swans (and dedicate them in Romano's name) and give them to the city park, and thus: bring Romano to the swans. It was genious. That way, Romano could enjoy the swans, and when he wanted to go, they could leave. And the next morning, they wouldn't have 7 more birds to keep them up and night and wake them up at an early hour.

Holding hands as they walked through the park, Spain cheerily commented on how his and Romano's breath was floating through the air. The temperature was beginning to drop and snow was starting to fall from the sky. It was a truly romantic evening. Romano wasn't even complaining either! It was perfect!

"So Antonio, why did you want to walk around the park today or all days?" Spain definitely did not miss Romano's subtle rub of his thumb against Spain's hand. Giving him a gentle squeeze, Spain just leaned in and kissed Romano on the lips. Pulling back slightly, Spain whispered "I bought something and I really would like to show it to you."

Slightly confused but amused, Romano just replied with a quiet, "okay," and the two continued their way to the pond.

Now, Spain had this all set up. They would make their way to the beautiful pond where the 7 swans would be swimming and doing what swans do. Romano would then turn to him, amazed by the graceful creatures and say 'oh how graceful! I wish I had a swan!' Then Spain would pull the certificate out from his pocket which said that the swans were dedicated to Lovino Vargas and then Romano would jump him and then they would start passionately making out in the snow. That was what Spain envisioned to happen.

But reality was a bitch, after all. And today was no exception. Immediately, Spain could tell that something was… off. The pond was supposed to look, well…pondish. Instead, there were rose petals everywhere (although they do contrast beautifully with the snow) that really shouldn't be there during the winter. There was also the distinct sound of someone speaking French (a very familiar sound of someone speaking French.)

And sure enough, when they arrived close enough to the pond, was reality being a bitch. There were 7 swans swimming around in the pond. 7 _normal_ swans.

And 1 very large, very French duck.

Dear God, what was with France and dressing up in costumes?

"A honhonhonhonhonk~!"

Both Romano and Spain stared at the unbelievable Frenchmen in front of them. France was wearing a white duck costume, complete with white inner tube underneath him for floating. There was a yellow duck bill on his head and he even had feathered arms, too. And France clearly saw nothing wrong with this. He was just floating along the pond, with the swans, 'a-honhonhonhonhonking' away.

"France! What are you doing here?" Oh man, if Romano wasn't holding his hand so tight, Spain would've swam out there, pulled France right out of the water and start beating on him for messing up his romantic plans.

"I don't know what you are talking about, wak. I am only an innocent duck who wants to see l'amour."

"France! I know it's you!"

"I still don't know what you are talking about!"

"Don't make me come out there!"

"I would like to see you try, wak wak!" Forgetting about who he was supposed to be at the moment, France stood up in the shallow water and put his hands on his hips in a, well, an 'I-would-like-to-see-you-try' manner. Which made Spain drop his hold on Romano's hand and was just about to run out thereto show the French duck who was boss.

But surprisingly, Spain was brought back to reality by the sound of the most beautiful laughter. Looking next to him, Romano was laughing hysterically. His face was red from the cold December weather, his red and green scarf framed his face in all the right ways, and his dark blue jacket brought out the pale wintered colour of his skin.

Suddenly, all thought processes stopped in Spain's head. The only thing he could do, was stand there in awe as he took in the most beautiful sight: his lover. Dimly, Spain thought, that even if things didn't go the way he wanted them to, if this was the reaction he'd get, then maybe having his plans messed up wasn't such a bad thing.


	8. Eight Maids a Milking

_(Really badly written chapter warning This didn't come out nearly as good as I had hoped)_

_On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Eight maids-a-milking_

_Seven swans-a-swimming_

_Six geese-a-laying_

_5 golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_A partridge in a pear tree_

Romano had woken up in a great mood. He wasn't woken up from a bird nor kept up by a bird. The sunlight from outside was only glittering in through the window, which cast a light golden colour in the room. And better yet, Spain was already awake next to him, gently rubbing shapes on Romano's back. What better way to wake up than that?

Smiling lazily, Romano looked up at Spain while Spain continued to draw with his fingers on his back. "How long have you been up?" Romano asked. Spain looked up at Romano, smiled, and splayed his hand out on Romano's back. Before Romano could even blink, Spain pulled him forward into is chest and kissed him sweetly and slowly. Just as slowly as the kiss, Spain pulled back and nuzzled Romano's nose with his own. "Just long enough."

Closing his eyes, Romano leaned into Spain's nuzzly nose and rubbing hands. Oh yeah, this was definitely the best way to wake up in the morning. "What time is it?" Stopping his morning-loving, Spain looked over Romano's head at the alarm clock next to the bed. "Uh… about 9:43" And dropped his head back down on the pillow.

Wrapping his arms around Spain's waist, Romano just 'hummed' and buried his head in the junction of Spain's shoulder and chin. As he's said before, the perfect time to wake up is 10:20, and he planned on enforcing that idea today. And quite frankly, he was going to make Spain do that, too. It was their first day off of their Christmas break, so they didn't have anywhere to go, they had nothing to do, and more importantly, they had no one they needed to see. So as lazily (and alluring, he hoped) Romano moved his face so that his chin was on Spain's chest and looked him in the eyes. "Lay with me." Romano could feel the rumbling of Spain's chest as he chuckled. Tightening his hold around Romano, Spain rolled onto his back so that Romano was laying on top of him. One of Spain's hands was splayed on Romano's lower back (inching awfully close to one of Spain's favourite parts of Romano) while his other hand cupped Romano cheek, lightly rubbing his thumb along his skin. Romano stared wide-eyed from the shock of Spain's sudden movement, but couldn't help but smile. Spain was always doing little things like this that just caught him off guard and made his day somehow much better.

"Are you comfortable, amor?" Spain gently brushed one of Romano's bangs out of his face, careful not to hit the curl (there would be time for that later, now was the time to just relax) But really, Spain didn't need to ask. Judging by the very content and rarely so calm face on Romano's face, it was pretty clear that Romano was enjoying himself. Which made Spain very happy. It was nice to see Romano in a good mood. Just like last night. It was such a beautiful sight to see Romano laughing (not to mention the gorgeous sound of his laugh). Since Spain and Romano had starting dating, Romano had started laughing more, but it didn't happen as often as Spain would really, really like it to. Which is why Spain tried his hardest to make him laugh and smile, even though most of the time, getting Romano to laugh required him to either do something silly or unplanned. Like France. France was unplanned. (For good reason but then again, he did manage to make his lover laugh. So he really can't hate him for messing up the swans)

So, the two lovers feel asleep. They really had nothing else to do, so what better way to spend the first day of their break than sleeping in with each other?

~~~~O~~~~

It wasn't until around noon the Spain and Romano were woken up by the sounds of 'moo'ing and cloppering from outside their window. At first it was a dull noise, but it quickly grew louder and louder and more familiar and more a_nnoyingly _familiar.

"Spain! Spain are you there?"

Suddenly very awake and alert, both Romano and Spain sprung up from the bed. Oh yeah, it was a _very _familiar sound.

"Hey Spain! I brought the cows you asked for! And France brought the maids!" Spain face palmed. This is not what he had in mind when he told Veneziano about his idea for Romano's Christmas presents.

…

And he didn't even tell France about any of this! How did he know?

Through his hand, Spain could feel Romano's confused and 'what the hell is wrong with my brother' gaze on him. Honestly, Spain was kind of wondering the same thing at the moment.

"Spain? We're going to go get ready!"

A sudden loss of weight on the bed made Spain look up. Romano was putting on a shirt and jeans, not saying a word. Which may or may not mean that he was getting ready to murder his brother. Or France. Both was a fairly good possibility at the moment. When Romano finished dressing, he turned around and threw a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt at Spain.

"Come on, bastard. We might as well go see how much damage our lawn has sustained."

~~~~O~~~~

Now, there a few things in this world that just won't ever make sense, not even if the smartest scientists in the world worked together to try and make sense of it. It just won't happen.

Veneziano was one of those things.

See, when Romano and Spain made it outside to where Veneziano (and apparently France) were, Veneziano hadn't been lying about bringing the cows. Or the maids. Both were very clearly right in front of them.

Only, they really were cows and they really were French maids in sexy black maid uniforms (luckily the weather wasn't too cold). And the maids were sitting on stools, milking the cows, probably wondering why on earth they were here. Not that anyone could blame them. And they did seem to be enjoying themselves, somewhat. I guess, compared to what they could be doing.

But fate was a bitch. And within the 10 seconds that Spain and Romano had been outside, Veneziano tackled Romano to the ground, not caring about the snow.

"Fratello! I'm so glad you finally got out of bed to come see!"

And before Romano could even respond to him, Veneziano pulled Romano up from the ground and ran towards the, well, 8 maids who were milking.

"Do you like it Roma? Spain spent a whole week planning all this after all!"

'_Wait…what?' _Romano thought. _'Antonio planned this?'_

Taking in Romano's confused face, Veneziano decided to help 'clarify' in his own way: by disregarding Spain's attempt to make all of this a surprise for Romano. "Fratello, haven't you ever heard of the '12 Days of Christmas'? Well, it's really awesome and mghnah manhanahgf-" a tanned hand shot out and covered Veneziano's mouth before he could finish his sentence.

"That's enough Veneziano. Why don't you go see if France needs any help, hm?" Judging by the look in Spain's eye, he wasn't asking Veneziano, he was forcing him. Plus a strong shove in France's direction also helped get the point across to Veneziano.

"Antonio?" Spain turned around to face Romano, putting on a bright smile for him.

"Sí, Lovi?"

"…What is the 12 Days of Christmas?"

Sighing nervously, Spain pulled Romano next to him and started walking in the house. "Uh… it's nothing Lovi. Nothing you need to worry about. Lets go make breakfast, Sí?"

'He's keeping something from me. Well, if he won't tell me, I'll just have to go find out for myself.'

~~~~LATER THAT DAY~~~~

"Dammit Veneziano! I told you not to mention anything about this to Lovi!"


	9. Nine Lady's Dancing

_(Sorry about such a short chapter. I'm getting ready to leave for Arizona so I haven't had so much time to write this)_

_On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Nine lady's dancing_

_Eight maids-a-milking_

_Seven swans-a-swimming_

_Six geese-a-laying_

_5 golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_A partridge in a pear tree_

Romano could honestly day that he appreciated dance. He didn't care if it made him seem 'girly' or a 'pansy.' He was Italian, he loved the arts, and dance was a big part of the arts. He'd seen the Nutcracker at least 3 times every year, he begged Spain to go with him to see the Cirque de Solei when they came to Madrid, and he even forced Spain to go to dance lessons with him every Friday (although Spain was more than happy to do anything that made Romano happy.)

So, perhaps that's why Romano practically screamed like a teenage girl meeting that cross dressing girl from Canada that all the girls in America are so obsessed with (but don't seem to know that they're obsessing over a girl) when Spain came home with two tickets to see the ballet that was showing tonight. They were called 'The Nine Lady's Dancing,' which was apparently a Christmas time special. But honestly, Romano didn't really care how famous or infamous they were. Sometimes, the best dancers are those who you least expect.

But the showing was in less than an hour, which meant the Romano had to get ready. It wasn't a casual showing, either. It was an actually rather up kempt company that sponsored them and you wouldn't even be let in through the door, even with a ticket, if you didn't dress up. Not that Romano was complaining. Unlike most men, dressing up was one of Romano's favourite things, mostly because he didn't get to that often, and when he did, he always attracted a few stares, both men and women. They didn't mean anything to him, for Spain was the only one for him, but it was still nice to see Spain get protective of him. Plus his jealousy often led to really hot sex afterwards. And who doesn't love that?

All suited up, Romano made his way downstairs. He was wearing his favourite suit: a dark navy suit with a slightly darker waistcoat underneath, a silver button up shirt, and black dress shoes. He even went the extra mile and put on silver plus shaped cufflinks.

And his ministrations did not go unnoticed by Spain, who was at the bottom of the staircase with his jaw practically at his feet. He'd be lying if he said he didn't a little hard at the _extremely_ hot image in front of him. It definitely didn't hurt going to these shows when he got to have such a hot piece of Italian on his arm the whole night. And just like the gentleman he was, Spain held out his arm for Romano to grab. One of the nice things about Romano after you got to know him (and got him alone) was that he became much more compliant about certain things. Like, he didn't care if Spain sort of treated him like a girl because there was no one around to see it. (Plus Romano also liked it, but that's besides thee point) And while Spain really enjoyed staring at his beautiful Italian lover, they really needed to get going if they wanted to make it in time for the show.

_~~~~ (I don't have the time to go into more detail)~~~~_

"And did you see the part where she jumped in to the air spun at the same time? It was so amazing! I can't even believe it!" Romano was bouncing next to Spain as they walked into the front door of their home. Needless to say, it was a mission success. Roman couldn't stop talking about every detail in the show and which dancers were good and who messed up where and something about stage lighting and a bunch of other technical dance stuff that Spain didn't know off the top of his head like Romano did.

But as long as Romano was happy, Spain was happy.

And the best part, no matter how happy Romano is now, come Christmas Eve, Romano will explode with happiness.

_(I'm sorry it's pathetic)_


	10. Ten Lords a Leaping

_(This whole time difference thing is killing me. My New Yorker body has been saying it's time for bed for the past 10 hours, but every time I look at a clock, it's not even dinner time.)_

_On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Ten lords-a-leaping_

_Nine lady's dancing_

_Eight maids-a-milking_

_Seven swans-a-swimming_

_Six geese-a-laying_

_Five golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens_

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Something was definitely up. Mostly definitely. The weirdest things were happening lately _and _they were happening in sequence. So it was definitely not a coincidence. Like last night. Spain suddenly springing tickets to a dance. Not that Romano didn't enjoy the dance (it was amazing) but just, Spain just couldn't seem to relax through the show. No one else would've seen it, but no one else know Spain like Romano does. He would ask Spain what was going on , but something told him that Spain wouldn't tell him. In fact, Spain had seemed rather stressed lately. Sure it was Christmas time, but he didn't have any work to do, Belgium and the Netherlands weren't coming this year, and there was nothing else that they had planned.

So then, what was going on? Romano couldn't stop asking himself that question. Was Spain keeping something from him? Was he unhappy?

…Was he cheating on him?

Surely Spain wouldn't do that. He constantly shouted to the world how much he loved Romano, so there's no way that Spain would do such a thing.

…right?

But Romano needed to find out. And if Spain wouldn't tell him, then Romano would go snooping. Although it wasn't really snooping when it was his house, too. So it was really more of… reassuring his doubts. So it wasn't wrong.

Peeking into the library, Romano double checked before walking fully into the room. He wasn't _entirely _sure where Spain was today, so I'd he was going to snoop, he'd have to actually be sneaky about it. Luckily, Spain wasn't in there. Although, Romano wasn't entirely sure if Spain even went in the library anymore. Not since his pirate days. If Romano had to guess, Spain probably felt bad memories when he came in here, since Spain would come in here before he went off to fight.

Just like a few days ago, nothing seemed changed. those two books where on the table and the mahogany desk was still just as dusty as it was when he found those rings. But it wasn't the desk that needed his attention. Veneziano had mentioned something about 12 days of Christmas a few days ago, during that whole cow business. Whatever the hell that was all about.

But still, that whole 12 days of Christmas thing sounded kind of familiar. Like, Romano had heard it before. Which made him wonder for the last few days where he had heard it or seen it. Which, in turn, made him wonder where he had been in the last few days where he would've seen or heard of it. Which, as a final result, allowed Romano to remember walking into the library and see something that had to do with the 12 days of Christmas. Which (enough with the 'which's already!) is why Romano was in the library presently.

Looking for the book that he had seen out of the corner of his eye not too long ago.

It was obvious that Spain hadn't stepped foot into the room since the golden rings episode, which mane it much easier for Romano to spot the book laying on the coffee table, just like last time. Picking up the book that may or may not diminish his fears, Romano opened the book and began reading.

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree…

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree…

And so on and so forth. The whole book was a set-up for the 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve. Well that certainly wasn't what Romano was expecting. Although, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect anyway. But this certainly wasn't what he might have thought of. Although, it did explain what had been going on for the past week. The birds, the rings, the _France. _It all made sense now.

Spain was giving him the 12 days of Christmas!

But, then what was he going to get today? Or had Spain already given him the gifts for today and Romano just hadn't noticed?

Maybe he should check the bo-

"Lovi? Are you in here?"

'_Shit!' _Throwing the book under the coffee table, Romano quickly grabbed another book from the table and pretended to read. "Yeah. I'm in here."

Immediately, a dark set of Spanish curls poked into the room. "Ah! There you are Lovi! Come with me, I have a surprise for you!" And before Romano could protest, Spain grabbed his arms and raced downstairs to the front door. Pausing to look at Romano, Spain pushed the door open, revealing what Romano had been expecting while at the same time, not expecting.

There were maybe 10 men, in tights, leaping across the front yard. Somewhere in sync, but most were just prancing around like the little queers they were.

Was this apart of the whole 12 days thing? Romano made a mental note to check the book once Spain fell asleep that night. But suddenly, a hand interrupted his thoughts. Or, more correctly, what was in the hand.

Spain was holding in front of him, a box of wursts.

What the hell?

Seeing the confusion on Romano's face, Spain cleared his throat and explained himself. "Well Lovi, I thought that you'd like to throw these very disgusting German wursts at these men who seem to think it's O.K. to prancing around our front lawn." Reaching into the bag, Spain brought out and handed to Romano a browned wurst. "So, what do you say Lovi? Are you in?"

Staring from Spain, to the wurst in his hand, to the prancing gay men on their lawn, Romano just smiled his mischievous smile and grabbed the smelling German food. Pulling his arm back, Romano decided to take out one particular gay prancer that was decked out in a full hot pink jumpsuit. He seemed like the best person to start with, wanting his first throw to count.


	11. Eleven Pipers Piping

_On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Eleven pipers piping_

_Ten lords-a-leaping_

_Nine ladys dancing_

_Eight maids-a-milking_

_Seven swan-a-swimming_

_Six geese-a-laying_

_Five golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens _

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Now, where on earth was that flute coming from? It wasn't a bad sound, really, just… well, where the hell was it coming from? Hell knows Spain couldn't play an instrument other than the guitar and Romano only knew how to play the piano. So unless there was a flute-playing burglar or a mutant rat that grew opposable thumbs, there was something weird going on.

…other than the… burglar…or …mutant rat…

Yeah…

…

Anyway, the flutist had to be somewhere. Flute sounds don't just play from nowhere. There was either a person or a CD playing it somewhere. And it wasn't coming from the kitchen, bedroom, front door/yard, basement, attic, or library. (Well, the library that Romano knew where the exact location was) Romano was really hoping that the sound wasn't coming from farther in the house because Romano honestly wasn't sure if he went down, he'd find his way back. There was quite literally, a 50/50 chance of him getting lost. This house was _huge_. And that's not even mentioning the secret passageways, hidden rooms, and secret compartments. Those were everywhere and most of them Spain wasn't even sure of where they were anymore. Most of them Spain hadn't even used.

Which is why Romano really didn't want to go through the whole house. And for some reason, he hadn't seen Spain since lunchtime. They ate together while looking out at the snow in the backyard and just talked about what they would do on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. After all, Romano had to go to the midnight mass service at the Vatican. However, Spain wasn't too keen on the idea of staying up until after midnight to listen to some guy talk in Latin for x-number of hours. Although Romano was lucky because he would be able to get into the church and get in the front row without having to wait in line like everyone else for 3 hours. And even after Romano practically begged (in his own way) Spain still wouldn't budge on not going. Which made Romano rather sad, but he couldn't really force Spain to do something he really didn't want to. After all, they weren't married. Although Romano hoped that that would change sometime in the near future. They have been living together for the past century.

Turning around, Romano realised that he must've taken a wrong turn, because he had no idea where he was. He was looking for the music room, because Spain had mentioned once that there was one, with a piano, violin, cello, and apparently a harpsichord, along with other instruments. So it wasn't really that odd for Romano to think that maybe the flute was coming from in there. However, Romano probably should've thought about how on earth he was suppose to find that room when he'd never been in it before. He was only going on Spain's 'Oh, just go left at the picture with the daisy in it, then go right when he see that red vase [but most of the vases in the house are red] it's the one that's tall [most vases are tall] don't worry, you'll know it when you see it, walk down that hallway for about a minute [wait, your pace or mine?] oh it doesn't matter, and then it's the door on the left with a golden handle. [All the doors in this house have golden handles!] No, no! This one is really gold! Because no one ever uses that room anymore!'

Yeah, that's pretty much how that conversation went. Can see why Romano would be lost.

Sighing, Romano was tempted to just sit in the middle of the hallway, right there, and just yell until Spain finally found him. But at the same time, Romano really wanted to find that god damn flute! It wouldn't hurt to keep going on, but if he did keep going on, Romano really wasn't sure if he'd find his way back or just get anymore lost.

"Lovino! Where are you?"

Strike that last one, looks like Spain was going to find him.

Walking the direction of where he heard Spain, Romano followed his voice in the opposite direction. It's a good thing Spain found him, otherwise Romano would've definitely gotten more lost.

"I'm here Antonio! Wherever that is!"

Suddenly, a very familiar Spaniard poked for behind a corner and started walking towards romano. "Ah, there you are, mi amor. I was wondering where you went, it's nearing 11,after all." Spain reached forward and grabbed Romano's hand. Which was rather unnecessary, since the moment Spain informed Romano that it was almost 11, Romano practically started running down the hallway. Then again, it was a good thing that Spain was holding Romano's hand, because Romano probably would've gotten lost again.

After walking down endless hallways and taking more turns than Romano had even thought possible, they made it to the main level that Romano knew like the back of his hand.

…Well, maybe not.

Anyway, when they made it to the kitchen, Romano broke their hand contact and went to grab the car keys. He had about a half-hour drive before making it to the Vatican. Romano then left the kitchen in favour of finding his coat, although he didn't have to walk far.

Spain was standing at the front door with Romano's coat in his arms. Walking towards Spain, Romano couldn't help but smile. It was just like Spain to take care of him like this. Taking his coat and putting it on, Romano was about to quickly lean forward and give Spain a peck, but Spain had other ideas. Instead, he cupped both sides of Romano's cheek and kissed him passionately, distracting him while he nudged the slightly propped open front door with his foot. When Spain broke the kiss, he stared into Romano's eyes and then broke out into a smile. It was then that Romano realised that there was a flute sound coming from outside. Confused, Romano slowly looked away from Spain. His mouth immediately fell open.

All along the walkway, there were at least 11 guys, all wearing red and green coats that went every-other, each playing a flute. Looking back at Spain, Romano just stood there speechless.

Laughing, Spain just kissed Romano again and led him out to his car, walking down the aisle of flute players. Or, now that Romano was closer, he could see that they were each playing a pipe. One of those olden playing pipes. It was just…amazing.

When they hit the car, Romano still couldn't figure out what he should say. It was just so romantic and crazy and so totally _Spain. _

As Romano was placed into his car by Spain, Spain quickly gave Romano a peck and pulled back only far enough so that their lips were only a centimeter or two away and whispered, "Do you like it?"

Well geez, how was Romano supposed to answer that one? 'No, Antonio, I hate it. That's why my mouth has forgotten how to work and I can barely walk by myself.' Duh, of course he liked it. Actually, like would be an understatement. _Love _would be more correct. This must be what the tenth day is. Romano decided that he'd rather be surprised then already know what he was going to get from Spain. That would make Christmas more fun.

But luckily, Romano was able to get his mouth to work to respond back to Spain.

"Yes. Yes Antonio. I love it."

In a flash, a large grin made it's way on top Spain's face. Quickly pressing his lips to Romano's, Spain was clearly trying to suppress his happiness. "Oh good. Actually, great! How great! I'm so glad you like it!"

Spain's sudden bout of nervousness didn't go unnoticed by Romano. Quickly kissing Spain to calm him from…whatever, Romano said with as much emotion he could muster, "I love you, Antonio. Don't ever forget that. Everything you do makes me happy, alright? You don't need to worry."

A very sincere smile graced Spain's face. "Thank you, Lovi. That means a lot to me." At that moment, Spain happened to glance at the clock on the car. "Oh! Lovi! You have to get going, don't you? Okay then, I'll see you when you get back, sí?"

"Yeah, I'll be home around 2? Maybe, if everything goes smoothly."

"Okay, bye-bye Lovi. Te amo."

"Ti amo, Antonio."


	12. Twelve Drummers Drumming

_On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me_

_Twelve drummers drumming_

_Eleven pipers piping_

_Ten lords-a-leaping_

_Nine ladys dancing_

_Eight maids-a-milking_

_Seven swan-a-swimming_

_Six geese-a-laying_

_Five golden rings_

_Four calling birds_

_Three French hens _

_Two turtle doves_

_And a partridge in a pear tree_

Out, this was late. Too late. No human being has a reason to be up at this hour, religion or not. Stupid pope for making him and Veneziano stay up an unreasonable hour just to listen to him talk in Latin (which, believe it or not, both Romano and Veneziano had already mostly forgotten.) And most of the service was just listening, give or take the occasional hymnal break. Oh, and can't forget that one break for communion. Honesty, those were the highlights of the night for Romano and Veneziano.

At one point, the two started going through one of the hymnals and picked out their favourite songs just to pass the time. The worst part was that they had to sit in the front row, so they couldn't draw or make jokes.

How. Fucking. Fun.

Oh the wonders of being the personification of one of the most catholic countries in the world.

After talking with the pope for at least half an hour, Romano was finally able to put on his coat and leave. Veneziano had taken off right after the service ended and said Merry Christmas to Romano, (lucky little bastard) leaving Romano all by himself with the pope, who wanted to meet him and thank him for showing Italy respect.

In short, in was a 'ya done gud, son' type speech.

So now Romano's Christmas was complete.

Approaching the door, Romano could swear he could hear the sound of drumming. But it was almost 1:30 in the morning, there was no way _anyone _was still up. God, how many times has he told the pope's that midnight mass was too late? Way too many fucking times! Clearly, Romano was hallucinating the drumming sounds.

There was clearly no other option.

Opening the front doors to the church, Romano froze.

In front of the church, a line of 12 marching drummers stood, completely straight, marching completely in step, drumming a cadence with snaring trills, loud bass drum beats, and dramatic cymbal crashes.

And standing right in the middle, just a few feet in front of them, was Spain, smiling nervously.

In a complete daze, Romano started walking towards Spain, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide with confusion and awe. In just a whisper that Spain would of missed if he wasn't so attuned to Romano, "…Antonio….what…how…?"

His smile brightening just a little, Spain took a few steps forward and embraced Romano. Kissing him lightly, Spain took a step backwards and kneeled down on one knee. Instantly, Romano's mouth just dropped to the ground, not even caring about his dignity. "Antonio…"

"Lovino Romano Vargas, for the many centuries that I've known you, you've always been surprising me. Starting as a little kid, messing up my house and hiding my stuff, I thought I finally got you down, and then you just…blew me away. I can't even begin to tell you how much I hated and loved that. I was so used to everyone doing what _I_ wanted and what _I_ said, and then you showed up and just threw all my rules out the window….

"And then…the day you came to me and told me that you would be leaving for Italy, and that you and Veneziano were declaring your independence… I didn't know what to do. I had this whole mindset that you would always be right next to me, forever. It never occurred to me that you would want more than what I could give you. And I didn't want to hold you back, I couldn't hold you back. Somehow, you wormed your way into my heart and I just…I couldn't say no to you. You turned the most powerful country in the world into a pile of mushy, corny goo… and you weren't even trying.

"And then you left… I didn't know what to do with myself. Everyone else had left, so it was just me in my huge and empty house. Every time I would walk past your room, I would become so sad and… I just never really knew the real reason why. I just thought I was sad because I missed having a house full of people. But then you came to visit more and more, I realised that I didn't just miss you, I missed having you around, messing everything up, making me do things for you. I missed everything that had to do with you. More importantly, I missed _you._

"Which was why I was so nervous when I asked you out. I was sweating from everywhere you could imagine because I was so sure that you would reject me. You always needed someone around, but you didn't want anyone to know that you needed someone around. You always had a way with words that just took a whole new level of thinking to understand. That's one of the reasons why I love you so much. You're not like all the others I know. You are just so much your own person, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I love that. Everyday is like a new adventure because everyday, I get to learn something new about you.

"Which is why…" Spain looked deeply into Romano's eyes, breathing deeply and trying to keep his nervousness for making him pass out. "Lovino Romano Vargas…" Reaching into his pocket, not breaking eye contact, Spain pulled out a velvet black box from his pocket.

"Will you marry me?"

Romano stood completely frozen. _'Oh my fucking God…Oh my fucking God…Oh my fucking _God_…' _He had no idea what the purpose of his mouth was at the moment. Words? What are those? Right now, Romano just didn't know how to form words. Which he stood there doing for at least a minute. He wasn't even aware of the tears cascading down his cheeks.

Which caused Spain to get the wrong feeling and have a feeling of dread come over him. _'Oh no, was this a mistake? Does he not want this? I am going to fast?' _Standing up slowly, Spain was shaking all over. He did make a mistake, Romano didn't want this, he's probably trying not to run away just to avoid hurting his feeling.

"L-Lovino…? I-I'm sorry… I didn't realise… I t-though we were…" Spain started to stutter, trying so hard not to start crying. He was so ready to take the next step with Romano that he just assumed that Romano was too. And he was trying so hard not to reach out and wipe away Romano's tears. He wasn't sure if Romano would shy away or welcome the gesture.

But sensing Spain's growing fear and feeling of rejection, Romano broke out of his stupor and tackled Spain to the ground. Kissing him passionately, which quickly turned into a heated make-out session, Romano tried to explain to Spain just how he felt without words.

'*kiss* You fucking idiot! *kiss* Of course I love you! *kiss* Yes! Yes! *kiss* Why would you every think I wouldn't say yes?'

Breaking the kiss, Romano locked his gaze with Spain, "Sí! Te amo! Te amo, Antonio! Sí!"

Completely shocked, Spain just stared at Romano, his words not quiet making it to his brain yet. '_Wait, he said yes? Yes… what does…?' _And slowly, Romano's confirmation settled into his head. _'He said yes… he said… yes…Yes. Oh my God he said yes.' _"He said yes!" Wrapping his arms around Romano's waist tightly, Spain rolled over on top of Romano and tackled his lips with his own.

They both stayed there, laying in the snow on the early Christmas morning, lips locked, brand new fiancés, completely in love, and not giving a damn about the world around them. Everything was perfect and absolutely nothing could ruin this moment for Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and Lovino Romano Vargas.

_Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night_


End file.
